Sean Nottery
by Makke Karyumo
Summary: BE WARNED! This story is 17 pages long in Microsoft Word. Let's go. I've been working on this for a really long time because I want it to be perfect. Now to get started on chapter 2. IF YOU WANT SPECIAL FONTS DOWNLOAD FROM HERE: naradabest. deviantart. com/art/Sean-Notterey-Year-1-Chapter-1-315835885


Note before I begin: This series starts in 2009 and will end in 2016. For those who don't know or are just unsure, 2009 is several years after the war and 2016 is one year before the epilogue of Deathly Hallows. This way, I have a little foundation but mostly have free reign. There. I'm done. Enjoy.

Sean Notterey: Life at Hogwarts, Year 1

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009. For most people, this day had no special meaning. However, for one little boy, this day meant very much indeed. For it was little Sean Notterey's 11th birthday. Sean was a small boy with shaggy brown hair and blue eyes. Little did he know that his life was about to get much more interesting.

At this point in time, Sean was a few weeks into his summer holiday from school. And so far, he had been having the best birthday he'd had in his life. His parents hadn't gotten him anything beforehand, because they had wanted to take him with them and he was able to get anything he really wanted. Then they had taken him to his favorite restaurant. Right now, he was playing with a fantastic new Transformers toy in his room. He heard a knock on the door downstairs, and he heard his father answering it.

And then things stopped being normal.

He could hear his father and a voice he didn't recognize downstairs. They had obviously gotten into an argument. This did not surprise Sean, because people often came to his house trying to hock something or other. Their voices had started out quiet. But, all of a sudden, Sean heard his father's voice getting louder.

"Oh, yeah? Then prove it!" he heard his father shout angrily. Sean thought he could hear sarcasm in his father's voice.

"Fine then!" said the stranger. There was a loud pop and, quite suddenly, squawking could be heard throughout the house.

Curious, Sean decided to go downstairs and see what in the world was happening. Sean didn't know what he was expecting, but the sight that met his eyes was definitely not it.

Standing just inside the door was what Sean could only describe as a giant. His face was mostly obscured by a massive amount of hair and a great bushy beard. He seemed to be wearing a coat made entirely of pockets.

But this giant man did not hold Sean's attention for long. For, at that moment, he heard a loud squawk from behind him. Turning around to look, Sean nearly fell over from astonishment (he had not noticed his father yet, who had, in fact, fallen over). Standing on the small table in the entrance hallway, where there had once been a vase, was a very brightly colored bird.

Being young and too curious for his own good, Sean began to walk toward this strange bird. He was not afraid. Sean had always had exceptional experiences with animals. When he was 7, he distinctly remembered ending up in the wolf exhibit on a trip to the zoo. He did not remember how he had ended up there, he knew he had not been dropped or anything of the sort, he had just kind of appeared in there. He did remember wanting greatly to pet the wolves, however. When he had found himself in the wolf exhibit, he fell victim to his curiosity in a similar way (this was neither the first nor the last time this happened). He began walking toward the wolves, which had all gathered in one corner at his appearance, apparently startled.

As he was walking towards the wolves, they started raising their hackles and growling. This irritated Sean for some reason.

"No! No growling!" he had said indignantly. Almost immediately, the wolves relaxed and became even more docile than Great Danes. He was found, minutes later, surrounded by snoozing wolves, having the time of his life. This was not the only incident of this kind, either. There had been similar occurrences with eagles, raccoons, and even a cobra at one point.

However, as Sean was walking towards the strangely colored bird, his father snatched him away and held him close so he could not go anywhere. It was at this point that his mother emerged from the living room, curious as to what exactly was going on. Seeing the giant, however, she froze and stared up at the man.

"Stay away from my son," said Sean's father.

But then the giant looked at Sean's father and said, rather kindly, "I know yeh're confused, but I 'ave my orders. I 'ave to give little Sean his Hogwarts letter, then tell ya how to ge' his things once yeh finally agree."

"Agree to what?" asked Sean, who was ignored because his father had spoken at the same time.

"I will not agree to this poppycock little story of yours," he said.

"Now, it's no poppy cock. I think I've already proved tha'."

"That does not mean I believe you!" shouted Sean's father with what was undoubtedly fear in his voice.

"Tha's yehr own faul', then. Bu' I'm tellin yeh the truth and now I 'ave to give little Sean his letter," said the giant man as he started shifting through one of his many pockets. A few seconds of tense silence passed as the giant searched the pocket. Finally, having found what he was looking for, the giant took his hand out of his pocket. He seemed to be pulling out a letter. But it was a letter like Sean hadn't seen before. It didn't seem to be written on paper, and it had a wax seal.

The giant bent over (very low, considering Sean's height) and handed the letter to an astonished Sean. But Sean hesitated.

"Well, go on then, open it," said the giant.

Needing nothing more to knock him out of his stupor, Sean immediately went after the wax seal on the back of the envelope. After he had the envelope open, he pulled out a piece of parchment from inside and unfolded it.

"Go on, now, read it ou' loud for yehr parents."

Despite his age, Sean was a prolific reader, and had no problem reading the letter out loud for his parents.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

(Animagus, Order of Merlin, First Class)

Dear Mr. Notterey

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Filius Flitwick

Filius Flitwick

_Deputy Headmaster_

"No way!" said Sean excitedly. "I'm a wizard?" Sean is what many people would call "just naïve enough" to believe this without hesitation. He could feel a big, stupid grin on his face. Sean's father, sensing defeat, had finally conceded to the fact that this giant man was telling the truth.

"Oh, very well," he said, exasperated. "So this magic rub-," he stopped himself, realizing that calling magic rubbish was probably not the best choice to make in front of this giant who had turned his vase into a bird. "This magic stuff is real. Where in the world is this Hogwarts place? How would he get there? What will Sean need and where will he get them?"  
"Oh, tha's simple stuff. I'll tell ya abou' the firs' two and the last one after Sean's par' is done. As for wha' he needs, why, there's another piece of parchment in tha' envelope with his supplies lis' on it. Bloody simple, really."

"Go on, then, Sean. Get out your supplies list," said Sean's father, a slight bitterness in his voice. He was not used to losing arguments.

Sean was about to go through the envelope to get out the other piece of parchment, but that was when a question, which he now felt should have been bothering him the whole time, just then entered his brain.

"Who are you, anyway?" he asked, looking up (and up and up and up) at the giant man.

"Oh, pardon me manners, little guy. Name's Rubeus Hagrid. Hogwarts gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor."

"Care of Magical Creatures? You mean there are special animals?" Sean asked, getting excited.

"Sure are," said Hagrid with a very pleased grin. He was not used to such interest in his class, and he was enjoying it. "But you won't get me until your third year."

"Oh," said Sean, his spirits falling slightly. "But I can at least come and see them, right?" he asked.

"I don' see why no'," said Hagrid, grinning at the ecstatic look on Sean's face.

Sean now took out the other piece of parchment. Written on it was:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

` UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following.

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_ by Miranda Goshawk

_ A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot

_ Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling

_ A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch

_ One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllidia Spore

_ Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger

_ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander

_ The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ by Quentin Tremble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an Owl OR Cat OR Toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

"How much is all of this going to cost exactly?" asked Sean's father

"Not much more than all the things he'd need for Muggle school," said Hagrid.

"What's a Muggle?" Sean asked.

"Non-magic folk, boy. Yer parents are Muggles," replied Hagrid. Then he started addressing Sean's father. "So, tha's all Sean needs teh be here for, unless, of course, you wan' to say somethin' to 'im."

"I do indeed!" exclaimed Sean's mother, having broken out of her astonishment. She had heard everything and begrudgingly believed it, but didn't want her son to go to a boarding school, for fairly obvious reasons. She turned to Sean and asked, "Now Sean, are you absolutely sure you want to do this? You'll be living there and won't see us until the end of the year."

"Yes!" said Sean without hesitation. The allure of things he had only ever dreamed about being real was too irresistible. His mother sighed.

"I was afraid you would say that," she said. She turned to Hagrid. "Very well. But I swear, if anything happens to hi-"

"Nothin's gonna happen," said Hagrid, who didn't sound entirely convinced.

"Fine," said Sean's mother. "Sean, go back to your room now, sweetie. Mummy and daddy need to talk to mister Hagrid."

"All right," said Sean sadly. He wanted to learn more, but he knew he was going to have to wait. He went upstairs and tried to play with his Transformer again, but found himself too absorbed in thoughts of Hogwarts and what he would do with magic. He kept finding himself reading his acceptance letter. It seemed like only minutes had passed when he was called back after Hagrid had left, when it had, in fact, been over an hour; his parents had something to tell him.

"All right," said Sean's father. "You can go. We are going to get your things next week."

Sean couldn't hold in the joyous noise he made as soon as he heard this.

It was a pleasantly cool day, with the sun behind a sheet of clouds that did not look as though there would be any rain any time soon.

_It'll probably rain later in the week,_ thought Sean as he walked down the sidewalk of Charing Cross Road with his parents. Apparently, wherever he was going to get his things was in London, where he lived. It had only been a 10 minute train ride from the station nearest his home. He could see the corner of the envelope with his letter and supplies list sticking out of his mom's purse. He so wanted to grab it and read the letter for what had to be the thousandth time since he got it a week ago. However, he knew he could not take it out and read it in public. Parchment was not normal in what he had started calling the "Muggle world." The phrase now rolled off his tongue whenever he said it. It just felt right. He contented himself with looking in the windows of the shops to his right. Most of them had nothing he wanted, but some he found very interesting in the brief times he saw in the windows.

He felt his parents stop behind him and stopped to look around. They had stopped in front of a shop between a book store and a music store. The shop they were in front of had a sign that said "The Leaky Cauldron."

_An inn? _Sean wondered as his parents looked apprehensively at the shoddy-looking building. _This can't be where we're getting my stuff._

Sean soon decided that that was the last time he would jump to conclusions.

Sean's mother grabbed his hand and started walking him inside the Leaky Cauldron with his father. As his father opened the door, the first thing that hit Sean was the smell. Not that there was a bad smell. But that was what hit him. He had expected a thoroughly disgusting smell to come from this dingy building. But then Sean saw inside the building. It was not dingy at all. The outside was in major (but not total) contrast with the inside. The inside of the Leaky Cauldron was by no means magnificent. But it was clean and lit semi-brightly. He looked around and something struck him as off, but he could not tell what it was (he would later figure out that it was the fact that no one seemed to be wearing normal clothes. They were wearing what appeared to be robes).

At this point, Sean had seen the counter and, more importantly, who was behind it. The person behind the counter explained the cleanliness of the inside of the pub. A pretty lady with long blond hair was wiping down the counter with a green rag. Sean was interrupted in his thoughts by his father walking around him towards the counter. His mother dragged him along when his father got ahead of him.

"Um… excuse me," Sean's father said to the lady behind the counter. "I'm supposed to be looking for a miss Hannah Longbottom."

"That would be me," the lady said kindly. "What do you need me for?"

"Er… okay. This is going to sound crazy bu-" Sean's father began.

"Stop, stop, stop," said Hannah, smiling. "I know what you need." She looked down at Sean. "You got your Hogwarts letter, did you?" When Sean nodded, she said, "May I see?"

At this, Sean's mother took the envelope out of her purse and handed it to Hannah. Before opening the letter, Hannah inspected the wax seal that Sean had broken when he opened the letter the first time. After a few seconds, she opened it and took out the two pieces of parchment. She first looked over the letter itself, then the supplies list. Having apparently found what she was looking for, Hannah replaced the pieces of parchment and handed the envelope back to Sean's mother.

"This way please," said Hannah, coming around the counter and walking towards a door in the far wall. When she got to the door, she opened it and led them into a courtyard full of garbage bags. She walked up to the brick wall opposite the door and turned.

"Alright, I'm not sure what you were told to do, but I have three bits of advice for you, regardless. Number one: The first thing you want to do is go to Gringotts bank. It's the giant white building, you can't miss it. There, you can exchange your Muggle money for Wizarding currency. Speaking of which, you need to know what that is." She reached into a pocket and pulled out one large gold coin, one smaller silver coin, and an even smaller copper coin. "This is a Galleon," she said. Indicating the gold coin. "This silver one is a Sickle. And this little one is a Knut. Now, there are 17 Sickles to a Galleon and 29 Knuts to a sickle. Think you can remember that?" She asked. When they had all nodded their assent, she continued. "Good. Now. Number two: Since this is your first year, you aren't going to know where to go. That's why I have here a list of the stores you will want to go to so you can get your things." She pulled out a small piece of parchment with writing on it and handed it to Sean's father. "You can go into the other stores if you want, which you will," she added, winking at Sean, "but you don't need to. And number three: Stay out of Knockturn Alley. That's a shady place that you are going to want to avoid. Well, now that all of that is out of the way, I give you, Diagon Alley."

When she said this, she turned to the wall and took what had to be a wand from her pocket. She tapped the brick that was three up from the trash can and two to the left three times. After the third tap, a small hole appeared where her wand had touched the brick, but it was slowly growing. After about 30 seconds, a huge archway had appeared in the wall that led to an alley of the most amazing shops Sean had ever seen. But there were more than just shops. There were people in robes walking around and talking to each other. Some had bags full of their shopping.

"Now, just walk down this street. When you turn the corner, you should see Gringotts. When you get there, just go to the main desk and tell the goblin behind it you want to exchange your Muggle money. He'll tell you where to go."

"Yes, thank you, but… ummm…" Sean's father had started talking, but was looking rather oddly at Hannah. "I believe I misheard you. Did you say 'Tell the _goblin _behind it?'?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. I guess I forgot to mention that. Gringotts is run by Goblins. But don't worry. They're crotchety little buggers, but you'll be fine unless you try to steal something. Bye-bye now."

Sean's father and mother started walking tentatively through the archway; Sean was already in front, staring at everything. When they were through the archway, it closed behind them.

As they were walking down the street, Sean saw many amazing stores. He saw one full of cages that looked like they had animals in it (he couldn't wait to go there). He saw one that had a strange bubbling liquid emitting green smoke in the window. However, he was not so interested in what was in the stores as he was in the stores themselves. Everything seemed to move. There were things on the signs of the stores that were moving. He saw photographs on walls that were moving.

Eventually, they turned the corner and Sean immediately knew what Hannah had meant when she said you couldn't miss Gringotts. The bank was at the end of the street. It was all white marble with pillars in front of the door. It said "GRINGOTTS" in big gold letters above the door. When they approached the door, it opened for them, but Sean could not see any sensor or, indeed, any machinery whatsoever.

What Sean saw inside the bank took his breath away. There were chandeliers every ten feet, hanging from a ceiling at least two stories high. In the center of the entrance hall was a tall desk. But all of these were nothing compared to the workers he saw in the room. All of the workers were short with pointed noses and ears. They were all either bald or had a shock of white hair. And they all had very long fingers and feet.

All of this stopped Sean and his parents for only a few seconds. They were getting used to surprises. Sean's parents walked to the main desk with Sean. As they approached, the goblin behind the desk started talking.

"Can I help you?" he asked. He did seem somewhat irritable.

"Yes, please," said Sean's father, sounding much less disconcerted than Sean knew he was. "We need to exchange our… er…"

"Muggle money," said Sean happily.

Looking down at Sean, the goblin said, "Over there," and pointed to a desk at the side of the hall with a bored looking goblin sitting behind it.

"Yes, thank you," said Sean's father as he started walking toward the exchange desk. As they approached, the Goblin looked up at Sean's father and sat waiting, while Sean's father was pulling out his wallet. "What will £100 get us?" he asked. "Just in case," he said at the look he received from his mother. The Notterey's were by no means rich, just somewhere in the Middle class, but Sean's father had taken a lot of money out of the bank, not knowing how much he would need.

"20 Galleons," said the goblin, looking very bored indeed.

"Okay then, can I get £150 exchanged please?"

"Very well." The goblin took the money and handed Sean's father 30 Galleons in a bag, which he gave to Sean's mother, who put it into her purse.

"Thank you very much," said Sean's father as he turned to walk away with Sean and his mother.

They left Gringotts and began walking around, just looking at the stores for a bit. After a while, Sean's father decided it was time to get to business.

"Okay, son. We can look in the stores we don't need to go to later, after we get your school shopping done. So, what do you want to get first? And we are looking at animals last."

"Aw, man," said Sean, looking over the supply list. "Okay, then. How about… the books."

"The books, huh? All right," said Sean's father, taking out the piece of parchment Hannah had given him. "That should be… Flourish & Blotts. That's over here," he said, leading them toward a store with books in the window and a sign that said "Flourish & Blotts" above the door.

As they entered the shop, a bell rang and the man behind the counter looked up and smiled. "Welcome to Flourish & Blotts, how may I help you?"

"Yes, hello. My son needs to get his books for his first year at Hogwarts, please."

"Oh, yes. The usual eight, I suppose?" said the man, still smiling.

"I believe so."

"One moment please," said the man, a he started walking around the store, pulling books off of shelves. When he returned to the counter, he said, "Will that be all?"

"Depends," said Sean's mother. She looked down at Sean. "How long do you think these will last?" she asked. Sean looked at the stack of books and thought for a moment.

"Hmmm… about two months," Sean replied, knowing his mother was asking how long it would take him to memorize the towering pile of books.

"Then yes, that is all," said Sean's father to the man, whose smile had faltered a bit at the exchange.

"Okay then," he said, regaining his smile. "That will be eight Galleons, please."

Sean's mom started going through her purse and pulled out the money.

"Thank you, come again," said the man as Sean and his parents walked out of the store with the bag of books.

When they were back on the street, Sean's father looked down at Sean.

"What now?" he asked happily. He was very interested in these books as well. Sean looked at the list again.

"Hmmmm… I want to save the best for last, so not the wand and we're doing the animals very last. Hmmm… let's get my robes now," he said, smiling broadly.

"Okay, the robes are at," he said, consulting his list again, "Madam Malkin's. That's this way," he said, leading them down the street. Eventually, they approached a little store that had a sign over it that read "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions." As they entered, the first thing Sean saw was a boy his age with short black hair and gray eyes standing on a stool with a squat little woman fussing with the hem of his robes.

"Hello, one moment please," said the squat woman, who Sean assumed was Madam Malkin. After a few minutes, Madam Malkin finished with the boy and handed him a bag with his robes in it. "There you are," she said. As the boy walked past Sean and out of the shop, Madam Malkin turned to Sean and said, "First year at Hogwarts, I presume?" When he nodded, she said," Yes, come step up here. This will only take a minute."

It was true. Not much time had passed of Sean standing in some robes with Madam Malkin fussing with the hems when she stopped and looked Sean over.

"Yes, that'll do. Just let me go and get the rest of what you need, I'll just use these measurements." She walked through a door in the back of the shop and reappeared a few minutes later with a bag full of robes. "All of this comes to 46 Sickles, please and thank you."  
Sean's mother started rifling through her purse. It took her a minute to figure out how many Galleons that came to, as they had no Sickles or Knuts. Eventually, she pulled three Galleons out of her bag. "There we go," she said as she handed them to Madam Malkin.

"Three Galleons?" she said as she opened a drawer and dropped them in. She started digging around in her drawer and said, "Five Sickles is your change. Have a nice day."

"You too," said Sean's father as they walked out of the shop. Then he looked at Sean. "That shouldn't leave much before the wand and animal, should it?"

"Nope," said Sean, having already memorized the list."All that's left is the telescope, the cauldron, the phials, the scales, and the gloves before the wand and animal. And I want to do the Cauldron now so it will be easier to carry my stuff."

"Okay, that is at Potage's Cauldron Shop." They started walking towards a shop with a giant cauldron in front. As they entered, they were approached by a little man in green robes.

"How can I help you?" he asked.

"We need one size 2 Pewter cauldron, please," said Sean, looking up at the man.

"Hogwarts, huh? Just a second," said the man as he walked to one side of the shop. He returned carrying a dark cauldron that could fit Sean's head, but only just. "16 Sickles please."

Sean's mother handed him a Galleon and received one Sickle in return.

"Come again," said the man as Sean and his parents were leaving

"Let's get the telescope next," said Sean, before his father could ask.

"To Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment then!" said Sean's father very jauntily. When they got to the store, Sean saw a wide assortment of strange objects he had never seen before. When they were approached by a man in bright pink robes and asked what they wanted, Sean's father said, "We just need a telescope for him." The man left for a second and returned with a brass telescope.

"One Galleon, please." Sean's mother retrieved the money and handed it to the man as Sean took the telescope and put it in his cauldron.

As they left the shop, Sean's father said, "That just leaves the phials, the scales, and the gloves, which we can get at the Apothecary." He led them to said Apothecary, where they bought the supplies for one Galleon, 12 Sickles, and 25 Knuts. They now had 15 Galleons, 10 Sickles, and 4 Knuts left. As they left the shop, Sean's father said, "So, ready to get your wand now?" He was very excited to see his son get a wand, something he could never have imagined.

"Yes!" said Sean, even more excited than his father.

"Good! To Ollivander's!" He led them to Ollivander's, a shop with large windows, through which Sean could see shelves filled with small boxes. They entered the shop and a bell tinkled. At the sound of the bell, a very old man appeared from behind one of the shelves and approached them. He immediately looked straight at Sean.

"Getting your first wand, are you?" he asked in a deep and gravelly voice. When Sean nodded, he said, "Good, good." He grabbed what looked like measuring tape from the desk in front of the store and dropped it on the ground. It did not stay on the ground however. It started wriggling and floating towards Sean, apparently taking measurements. The old man started walking through the rows of shelves, asking Sean seemingly random questions, pulling out a box every now and then. He returned minutes later carrying three boxes. He opened each in turn and said, "Now, I don't suppose you know just how significant your wand is, nor how complex, do you?" Sean could not say he did. When he said as much, the old man did not get frustrated with him for not knowing what he supposed was common knowledge among wizards, as he had expected. On the contrary, he looked rather looked very happy at the chance to explain.

"The first thing you should know is that you do not choose your wand. Your wand chooses you. And it does this using its different attributes which are its rigidity, length, core, and wood. All of these play a part in the "personality," so to speak, of your wand. And when we find which wand suits you, I will explain each of these to you. However, that is the tricky part. So, choose one. Just grab whichever one you like," he said, indicating the three wands on the desk.

Sean scrutinized the three wands in front of him. They were all drastically different from each other, so he had nothing in particular to go by. Unable to feel any special connection to any wand in particular, Sean decided to grab the one that was his favorite color: Black.

"Ah," said Ollivander. "Blackthorn and dragon heartstring, nine inches, springy. Very well. Give it a wave."

Sean did as he was told… and immediately regretted it. The lamp on the desk in front of Sean exploded, as did a bottle of ink right beside it. Sean's mother gave a loud squeak of fear. Feeling greatly ashamed and scared out of his wits, Sean hastily replaced the wand.

"No. No, I think not," said Ollivander who, with a wave of his own wand, repaired the lamp and ink bottle, as well as vanished the ink. "How about another?"

Sean took more time looking over the other two wands this time. They didn't look the same, but now Sean felt differently about them. He now knew what happened if a wand didn't like its master. As he was pondering which one to choose, he found his hand going toward the left one. He picked it up and immediately felt something… different from the blackthorn wand. Ollivander apparently saw this in Sean's eyes.

"Ah, yes. Chestnut and unicorn tail hair. 12 inches. Brittle. I have a good feeling about this one. Give it a wave boy."

As Sean gave this wand a wave, he felt a tingling in the back of his head that immediately spread throughout his body, not unlike the way he feels when he gets to the climactic scene in a good book. This time, nothing exploded. On the contrary, the quill that was resting on the desk stood up on its tip and began spinning. Sean thought this looked very odd indeed, and gave a laugh.

"I knew it," said Ollivander, smiling. "You seem very much like the kind of person that wand would choose. You obviously don't know what I mean," he said, catching the look on Sean's face. "Allow me to explain.

"The main portion of every wand is the wood it is made of. Chestnut is, indeed, a most curious wood. It is perhaps the most adaptable wood, because it changes depending on its core. However, chestnut wand owners tend to have a few similar traits. They tend to be skilled tamers of magical beasts," Sean felt a dopey grin stretch across his face, "have an astounding talent for Herbology, and tend to be natural fliers.

"Next, and perhaps most important, is the wand core. Unicorn hair is generally the most consistent wand core. Wands with unicorn hair are the hardest to turn to the Dark Arts, and are also the most faithful, remaining attached to their first owner, regardless of the success of said owner. There are some minor disadvantages, however. Unicorn hair wands tend not to be the strongest, per se, and become melancholy if seriously mishandled.

"A little tidbit you may find interesting, however, is that three successive heads of the Wizengamot, the wizard court, have had chestnut and unicorn hair wands like the one you are holding.

"The physical characteristics of a wand are less significant, but important all the same. The wand length is usually corresponds to the owner's height. Not always (you are a prime example of that), but much of the time.

"Lastly is the wand flexibility or rigidity. This usually says much about the owner's adaptability and willingness to change.

"All of these contribute to a wand, but the owner contributes just as much as any of these things. Now then, if you are finished, that will be 5 Galleons, please."

Sean's mother gave Ollivander the money as Sean put the wand in its box and gingerly placed it in his cauldron. He had seen what happened when he waved the wand. He was going to have to be careful.

"How you feeling?" Sean's father asked, smiling broadly, as they were exiting Ollivander's. "Think you can handle going to Eeylop's Owl Emporium to get your school companion?"

"Yes!" said Sean, with no hesitation. He had been looking forward to this all day.

"Alrighty then. This way!" he said, speeding up a bit.

Eeylop's Owl Emporium, as it turned out, had much more than just owls. As they entered the shop, Sean saw cages all over the walls, filled with a wide assortment of animals. A black bird in one cage stared at him with one red eye as he looked around in the cages. He knew he was only allowed a cat, owl, or toad, even though he desperately wanted the black bird.

As he was walking around the shop, Sean came to a large cage full of black cats on the shelf just above his head. He stopped and stared at the cats, knowing he wanted one, but he got odd feelings about all of the ones in this cage.

"Ouch!" exclaimed Sean. He had just felt something claw his foot through his shoe. He crouched down as his parents and the woman behind the counter looked over at him. He saw another black cat in this cage, all by itself. He didn't have to think long about why, for the cat had just started reaching through the bars, trying to claw him while hissing.

"You won't want him," said the tired-looking witch behind the counter. "He doesn't like others. Been meaning to get rid of him for a while."

"Nonsense," said Sean as he started reaching out to pet the cat through the cage. This seemed to be a mistake, at first, because the cat got one paw around Sean's hand and pulled it against the bars, attempting to bite him. This, however, was what Sean had wanted. He grabbed the cat's paw away from his hand and held onto it. "No clawing or biting," he said with the same kind of reverberating authority his voice always had when he was ordering an animal. The cat seemed to consider attempting to attack Sean again, but didn't. Sean let go of the cat's paw and the cat, apparently having accepted his loss, lied down against the bars, letting Sean pet him.

"I want him," Sean said simply.

"Well, I'll be a hippogriffs nanny. He never likes anyone," said the astonished woman behind the counter. "Are you sure?" she asked, more to Sean's parents than Sean himself.

"How much?" asked Sean's mother, beaming. She had always admired her son's skill with animals.

"Er… 2 Galleons and 15 Sickles," said the woman. Sean's mother immediately started digging through the bag in her purse. She did not have 15 Sickles, so she instead just handed the woman 3 Galleons, receiving 2 Sickles in return, leaving the Notterey's with 7 Galleons, 10 Sickles, and 4 Knuts. The woman put the money in a drawer, then opened another drawer and pulled out a set of keys. She walked to the cage Sean was at and began searching for the appropriate key. At her approach, however, the cat jumped up and began hissing furiously.

"No," said Sean sternly. The cat reluctantly quieted, but kept his hackles raised on the other side of the cage. The woman then found the key and unlocked the cage. She began reaching for the cat, but she missed by many feet, as the cat immediately jumped straight to Sean when the cage was opened. Sean held him in his arms as he stood up, the cat purring but keeping his eyes on the woman and his parents. Sean was, apparently, the only one the cat trusted.

"What are you going to name him?" asked Sean's father. Sean's parents had long since learned not to try and become friendly with animals that only liked Sean, for it had never ended well for them.

"Hmmmm…" Sean pondered as he stared at the cat. At the sound of his voice, the cat looked up straight into Sean's eyes. Sean noticed for the first time that the cat had a very thin purple streak in each of its yellow eyes. He decided that his would be the inspiration of the name. But he wanted the name to do justice for the fearsome-yet-friendly cat. "Antost," he said. The name was short for anti-hostis. Anti, because yellow and purple are opposites on the color wheel, and hostis being Latin for enemy. Anti-enemy. Friend.

"I love it," said Sean's mother. They walked out of the shop, Sean's mother now carrying the cauldron with Sean's stuff in it, his father carrying the bags full of more stuff, and Sean carrying the cat carrier with Antost in it, looking down at it every couple of seconds. They spent a little while looking at the other shops (Sean particularly enjoyed Weasley's Wizard Wheezes) and getting little things like ink, parchment, and other nonessential things (mainly from WWW). They were heading back to The Leaky Cauldron, then back home. This had possibly been the best week of Sean's life.

17


End file.
